Proverbial Straw
by PenguinKye
Summary: [Minor revisions 7405] Sylphiel has had it tough, and yet she always seems so cheerful. Maybe she's as nice as she seems. Or maybe she wants revenge, and she knows exactly who to blame. [Complete]


This is for everyone who thought that 'Reflections' was about Sylphiel. You want to see how I would show her pain? Read this.

Disclaim: We all know I don't own this character or her series. If I did, I would have written her /very/ differently. (um…like this, for example…)

Proverbial Straw

by Kye

You always read about the dark, dark internal thoughts of normally sweet and complacent people. And most of it is probably bull. So what I want to know is, where's my bull? As far as I can tell, I'm one of the cheery people most qualified to have a bitter interior, and I'm not getting any. You wanna know about the straw that broke the camel's back? Hm. Start with losing your mother. Then lose your father. And your hometown. And your would-be boyfriend. Then bring your dead town and your dead father back to life, and watch them be taken away again.

How are you feeling? Want the name of my chiropractor?

The amazing thing is that, with the exception of my mother, it's all the fault of one person. She's the last person you'd expect me to hang around with, after all she's done. She's the last person to realize she's ever done anything wrong. All she sees is herself saving the world, again and again and again. All I see is careless gluttony and thoughtless selfishness.

She's not even a very likable person. She's pushy, loud, rude, and a complete showoff. Don't get me wrong; I'm not being bitter (yet). It's the honest truth. She always has to steal the show, giving absolutely no credit to the other people who risk their lives for everyone else's. I'm not saying that she hasn't saved us all from time to time. I'm just pointing out that she would be dead if she hadn't had her oddly loyal friends to back her up.

Now, you're probably thinking, 'Silly Syl! It's not Lina Inverse's fault!' And you're dead wrong. Why was my father killed? Yes, because of Copy Rezo. And that's not her fault, right? Actually...yes, it is. If she hadn't let the fight go over the town, instead of moving it just a bit to the left, please--it wouldn't have been destroyed. And my family and friends would be alive. Sorry, dad! Logistics, you know! They just couldn't spare innocent lives, what with the battling to the death and all!

Of course, lucky Sylphiel had a reunion with all her dead friends and family. Why did they come back? Dare to take a guess? Oh. Wait. I remember! Lina Inverse took her time fighting the big bad Phibrizzo, and he got creative. You see where I'm coming from? The girl calls herself a sorcery genius, and couldn't even figure out that the little kid who stole her money bag was one of the most powerful mazoku in existence.

And then there's Gourry. Tell me, please, that I don't have to explain Gourry.

'So why do you follow her around all the time?' I hear you say. I'll tell you. First of all, I don't trust her. Even if Gourry doesn't love me, I care about him, and I don't want to see him get hurt. As long as I can show up now and again, she'll be too wary to try anything big. Second, I like revenge. You may not believe me, but I do. So I'm a priestess. Big whoop. Being priests and priestesses never stopped the dragons. And maybe I just don't care whether it's right or not. It's not like I have that much to put my faith on anymore.

So, yeah. Revenge. And you know the kind of revenge I mean. Long, horrible, torturous, violent revenge. The kind that makes a person think they're crazy, because they're the only one who sees it. Revenge fit to pay back hundreds of lives. The only thing that keeps me going from day to day. You think I'm an innocent, Lina Inverse? You think I'm a nice girl?

Nice girls weren't meant to be beasts of burden, Lina. You shouldn't load it on too heavy, because nice girls can only take so much before they snap. And if they make it through the break, they come back stronger than ever. If you were a nice girl, I'd call this advice, a little warning to keep you healthy, happy and wise. But you don't need advice, do you? So I'll give you a warning instead: watch your back, because you never know when straw will fall.

Note: Slightly revised on July 4, 2005. Wait. July fourth? 00 Oh...one A.M.


End file.
